The Lonesome Walk Alone
by GEM8
Summary: Mierva McGonagall and Albus Dumbledore were together in secret.  They faced the world together with strength and grace.  Now Albus is gone and Minerva must go on. How will Minerva cope with losing Albus?  Please Read and Review.


**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling et al. No Copyright infringement is intended. The song is entitled She is Like a Swallow Tradition/Paul Schwartz, Zakatak Music, administrated by Bug Music, ASCAP, arranged and orchestrated by Paul Schwartz. Features _Leigh Nash_ and can be found on _Lucia Micarelli's _CD_Music From a Farther Room._

**Title:** _The Lonesome Walk Alone _

**Author**: GEM

**Date Written:** 8-14-07

**Pairing**: Albus and Minerva

**Rating:** T

**Genre:** Romance/Angst

Summary: They were together in secret. They faced everything together and with strength but now he is gone. How does Minerva deal with losing Albus at the end of _Half-Blood Prince_?

**A/N:** I was listening to this CD this morning and this just seemed to beg to be written. I hope you enjoy. HBP spoilers. Read and Review.

_She's like the swallow that flies on high_

_She's like the river that never runs dry_

_She's like the sun beaming on the Lee shore_

_I love my love but love is no more_

Harry felt horribly. He couldn't tell Professor McGonagall what she wanted to know. He had made a promise Dumbledore and he wasn't going to break that promise. Harry noticed that Minerva McGonagall seemed to be half the person she usually was. She'd lost her stern look and formidability. He always wondered if there was something between them. She and Albus Dumbledore were always together. Harry's thoughts flashed back to his fifth, in this very office when Umbridge and the Ministry tried to remove Dumbledore. Umbridge had laughed at the prospect of Dumbledore standing up to all of them alone. Minerva being no fan of Dolores Umbridge made it clear that he would not be single handed. Harry was proud of her that day but not as proud as he was of Albus Dumbledore who said to her. _"Yes he will, Minerva."_ It was his gallant effort to keep her from harms way. Now as he stares at the same woman in front of him, staring out the window of the Headmaster's office. Harry only wishes he could help her alleviate some of her pain.

---

She didn't have the heart to yell, scream or cry in front of Harry. She wanted answers, but not at the expense of him. Harry Potter, the young man who just left the office now had the fate of the world resting on his shoulders. She was certain he was beginning to feel the pressure, now that Albus was gone. Albus was gone; she sank into the chair in front of her and cried a new river of tears. She needed a moment to herself before she was torn away to other business. She needed to deal with her own grief.

As she cried, moments flashed before her eyes. Her first lesson with the great Albus Dumbledore, their first game of chess, their afternoon teas, walks on the grounds. Their first official date, the night he proposed to her, and their wedding day.

The pain of having to love in secret and not share their joy with friends and family was a sore spot for them. They did it for their own safety and for the safety of those around them. They knew of the dangers and they knew that they had to keep their marriage a secret to protect everyone around them, including themselves. Over the years people would talk about how close they were and there were rumors but they never confirmed nor denied any of them. They were in love, satisfied with life.

Albus had begun to express his worries to her, since the beginning of the year. He had no wish for Minerva to be alone when the end came. She had admonished him for thinking of it. She was not going to lose him, not now, not this soon. The conversation left a bitter taste in her mouth. She had no desire to think about losing the love of her life. Looking back on it now, Minerva was almost sure that he knew he was going to die that day. He was trying to warn her, prepare her, and protect her even but they still needed to keep their marriage a secret so Minerva did her best to quell his fears about leaving her to deal with her grief alone.

_A maiden into her garden did go_

_For to pluck her some wild prim rose _

_The more she pluck'ed the more did she pull_

_Until this maiden's apron was full_

She had spent the night making arrangements for Hogwart's greatest headmaster, her fallen love. She had not slept at all, afraid to close her eyes and make this real. She was numb with grief. She continued to hold a stiff upper lip but the events were starting to catch up with her. She left her office and went for a long walk on the grounds. She needed to be alone she needed to grieve. She walked the grounds in the late morning. It was eerily quiet. She made her way to the Black Lake. She threw a stone in as she had done every time she and Albus walked the grounds. There would be no more of that she thought, as her breath caught again. No more… She wandered aimlessly around the grounds, until she came upon the greenhouses. She stopped and decided to walk through to Pomona's private gardens. She had always invited Minerva to take what she wanted. She stopped in front of the vast rose gardens and took as many roses as she could until her cloak was full. The physical labor felt good. It helped to do something instead of dwelling on her situation. Even though the truth was although the psychical labor helped she still dwelled on the situation. She left the gardens and climbed the hill back up to the school. For a moment she thought that Albus would be standing in the entrance hall waiting for her, but then the reality of it all came crashing down. She ran into the castle and to her rooms as fast as could as a new set of tears began to flow.

_Then out of these roses she made a bed_

_A scarlet pillow for her head _

_She laid her down no word did she speak _

_and then this maiden's heart it did break._

She walked into the rooms they shared and collapsed, in a fit of tears. Her Albus was gone…never to return again. She looked up at the bed they shared but she couldn't bring herself to lie there. She pulled the roses from her cloak and muttered a few spells over them. Soon a bed appeared beside her with a scarlet pillow she pulled herself up into it, curled up and closed her eyes. She was again racked with sobs. She didn't see Albus sitting in his portrait in their rooms with tears fall from his own eyes. She was too consumed in her own grief.

_She's like the swallow that flies on high_

_She's like the river that never runs dry_

_She's like the sun beaming on the Lee shore_

_I love my love but love is no more_

Minerva waited until all the dignitaries left and then stepped up to the white tomb, his tomb. Her hand brushed against the smooth white marble as the tears she tried so desperately to hold at bay broke free. She gripped the marble to stay up right, but in doing so she laid her body across it. She kissed the stone cold marble. It was for good now. Her love was gone. He would not be coming back.

Our love is no more 

Minerva rejoined the school and the mourners that had come to pay their final respects. She had collected herself and was a model of decorum. She was Headmistress now; they would be looking to her for strength to get through this ordeal.

She gave a small sad smile to Harry as she passed him. He smiled back but knew that the smile wouldn't take away her pain. He knew her grief would run much deeper than theirs. He made a promise to Albus Dumbledore and he intended to keep it so his death and his love's grief wouldn't be in vain.


End file.
